Brothers
by CSMSH
Summary: Merlin's hurt. Rated T for some gore. nothing bad. I'm just paranoid. You can adopt the story if you want to as it is inconclusive. Cheers! *REVISED* This is the same story but I fixed some typos. He he enjoy!


**A/N **

**Hello folks! If you know me or are readers of my fanfiction "Why?" I'm sorry for the delay. The chapter six is giving me a hard time as it is a filler chapter. *sigh* But it is progressing. I might be able to update on this Saturday! Cheers for hope! This scene just came to me and wouldn't go away. So I posted it. It's inconclusive and if anyone wants to make a lovely fanfiction out of it, feel free! Only tell me first so I can read it too okay? Right! Without further ado.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. The rights go to respective right holders. This story is only for entertainment and I do not make money from this. (I wish this disclaimer is false and I do own Merlin *sigh*)**

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"Gaius! Gaius! Wait! How is Merlin?" Gwaine asked, Percival quickly coming near to flank him. The two knights skidded to a halt near the royal physician, their clothes had blood all over them. Fear started to fill the old man's heart. _Had something happened to his boy? He knew he should have postponed the visit..._ Gaius stopped his wayward thoughts. _Best see if there was anything wrong first. The blood could be anyone's or even perhaps blood of an animal if the knights had come back from a hunt... _Gaius thought seeing they were wearing their chain-mail. _But still..._

"Merlin? I do not know. I just came back from my visit to Edores. Why?" Gaius asked concern leaking into his voice and his face. "Edores?" Gwaine asked incomprehension clouding his face. His brows scrunching up. "But Merlin said you were here?!" Gwaine's voice caught Gaius off guard. "Why did he lie to us?!" Gwaine was panicking.

"Slow down Gwaine! What is the matter?" Gaius demanded sternly. "It's Merlin!" Gwaine blurted out. His voice high with fear. "When we came back from patrol this evening we found him in a corridor with his side bleeding from a knife wound! He was throwing up blood Gaius! He asked us to accompany him to the chambers but did not let us in. He said you didn't like it when we disturbed you. So we left after he closed the door on us. And that was about two hours ago!" Gwaine explained hurriedly, tripping over his words. "We alerted the guard to find who did it. We were searching as well."

Terror began to fill the aged physician. A terror he saw mirrored on Merlin's friends' faces. They all took off towards the physician's chambers hurriedly, which seemed to be miles away for the three of them. Gaius forgot his weariness as dread for his ward filled him. He knew that Merlin, for all the power he held, still could not heal even a scratch! Let alone a stomach wound! _Has his beloved boy already...? No! No... _Gaius stopped that trail of thought right there. There was no use panicking.

They all hurried to the stairwell and Gaius was horrified to see the trail of blood on the stairs. His previous fears came back to him ten folds. _There was so much blood..._ When they burst through the door they saw a puddle of blood near the door. It was as if merlin had leaned or collapsed against the door and stayed there for a few moments. Then a the trail of blood and bloodied footprints was leading towards Merlin's dingy room. Wasting no time the knights promptly barged into the small room.

Gaius steeled himself at the door and reminded himself to keep a calm head. No matter what he was about to face! The two knight were terrified enough for all of them. He can go over his own fear later. _Focus Gaius! This is just another patient! Check him treat him! That is it! _He told himself, even if his heart was crying out for him to help his son. His child in all but blood. The happiness and hope in his old life! He couldn't lose him. Not him! He took the final step and entered the room

His hard won composure almost shattered at the sight presented before him. The gasps of the knights assuring him that this!...this image before him, was actually happening, and was not, by some miracle, a nightmare, but the horrifying reality.

Merlin was sprawled face first over the shabby mattress. His left side covered in blood from the wound which was still bleeding sluggishly. A trickle of blood seen coming out from his slightly open mouth, creating a bloodied patch near his head. _Does he have a head wound as well? _Gaius thought frozen for a moment. "Gwaine I need hot water! Percival grab me same clean linens from the cupboard near the entrance. Good thing I have my medicine bag with me!" Gaius gave out orders quickly to the two petrified knights. He can worry himself later. Later. There was work to do.

The two knights, after quickly shaking off their fear, scrambled to obey him, terrified at the prospect of losing their friend. Gaius quickly turned to Merlin and turned him so he was lying on his back and took off Merlin's blood sodden jacket and tunic to look at the gaping wound on his abdomen. The turning had pulled at the wound and had increased the bleeding. Gwaine and Percival returned quickly and Gaius set to work. He checked his head and was relieved to fine no damage. Only a small bump on the back of his head which could have happened if he had hit his head somewhere.

Merlin was pale as the sheet he was lying on. His hair and face sweat drenched and chest rising and falling with shallow, fast and laboured breaths. Halfway through the stitching, Merlin began to stir feebly. "Gwaine hold him down. Talk to him." Gaius ordered not pausing in stitching. "If he panicked upon waking he might pull out the stitching. Keep his attention. The wound is deep it will hurt." Merlin, probably hearing his mentor's voice, turned his head towards Gaius.

"Ga's...? W..wha..y'do'n..ere? Sh'd...be in edres...St'p...Ga'is...it hurts.." Merlin mumbled fading in and out of consciousness. "Oh you see and hear Gaius but not us eh? I'm hurt too!" Gwaine said with false cheer, but his eyes were showing his fear as he started to dab at Merlin's forehead with a wet cloth. Merlin tried to turn his head but stopped with a pained moan. "Sr'y...D'nt see you..y'er a g'd frie'd G'wn" Merlin slurred a small smile etching on his face. "Gwen?! Why Merlin I'm flattered you think of me as the beautiful Queen of Camelot!" Gwaine blabbered, his voice breaking and drowning the teasing tone in it. Merlin huffed a small pained laugh.

Immediately his breath hitched. Face contorting into an ugly grimace he lifted his shaking arms to stop Gaius's stitching with a whine of pain. His legs starting to flail. "_Percival!_" Gaius snapped. With Gaius's sharp warning Percival quickly caught his young friend's thrashing legs and pinned them in to the mattress as Gwaine did the same to his arms.

"Easy there Merlin. Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself even more." The gentle giant soothed. But Merlin was not hear, did not _want_ to hear! Goddess it_burned!_

"Nooo... Perc'vl. hurts... plea..._please_.." Merlin moaned. His hands still trying to escape Gwaine's gentle grasp but did not have the strength to do so. "Just a bit more Merlin. hold on for just a bit more" Percival said looking up at his hurting friend and was horrified to see tears of pain start to pool in the wounded man's eyes. His heart broke for him, _I would take the pain if I can my friend!_. Percival vowed to himself, they will catch who did this! They will catch him and make him wish he was never born! No one!_ No one _gets away with hurting their little brother. Gwaine quickly wiped the tears away,his own filling up as well, holding Merlin's arms in one hand, only for more to gather not a second later.

"Done." Gaius announced at last and got up. "Wait till I get a sleeping draft for him. And some bandages." He instructed and bustled out the door. Gwaine started to blabber nonsense to Merlin to distract him as Percival continued to hold Merlin down and after Gaius returned they helped to prop him up so he can drink it and bandaged the wound. Merlin washed out the lingering blood from his mouth with some water and gladly took the potion. After a few moments Merlin was lost to sleep. No one wanted to risk moving him to change the sheets.

"He only survived by a margin. He had lost too much blood. He's lucky. Very lucky." A very tired Gaius sighed, secretly thanking Merlin's magic for keeping the young warlock alive. "Many would have perished by such loss."

Drained, Gwaine collapsed to the ground near Merlin's head and buried his face in his hands. "We shouldn't have left him. We should have followed him in. We nearly lost him!" Gwaine's muffled voice trailed off into silent sobs. His whole body shaking. Percival moved near him and rested a hand on his back. "We should have but there's nothing we can do now. Merlin's safe now. and we will keep it that way." He said to the guilt ridden man though his own heavy heart agreed with Gwaine. _They will keep him safe. They will not fail again._ Percival again vowed to himself.

Gaius left to dispose the bloodied clothes and sat down to collect his thoughts. The wound had, indeed, been deep. But Merlin's magic. Gaius suspected, had knitted the deepest parts of the wound. It was because of this the blood loss had not resulted in...well, it had helped.

Gaius was now fully experiencing his paralysing fear. He almost lost him! If it had not been for his magic Merlin would have...could have... Gaius had seen men dead from such wounds. A dagger, no mistake about it, had cut into the flesh at an angle severing the tissues and ripping the muscles and damaging the upper intestines as well as the liver. He did say the truth. Merlin was very lucky. Very lucky indeed. He spent a little while in the main chamber, reorganising his thoughts.

After getting rid of most of his fear, _his boy was safe now,_ Gaius returned to his ward's room. Only to see the two knights were asleep as well. Both Gwaine and Percival were on the floor with their heads resting on the side of Merlin's cot, with a hand from each, holding on to Merlin's limp left arm and Merlin himself was asleep with calm look on his face. Safe with his friends, his brothers, looking over him.

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**A/N Review please! Cheers!**


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